Sort of a primitive dance, this piece was written in 1978, while I was working at the MIT Experiemental Music Studio. It was realized on their PDP 11/50 computer, using their Music-11 software. It has an improvisational character, though it was carefully planned.

It is written using a tuning system I like to call pentaphonic, which is a sort of equal-tempered version of the pentatonic scale, consisting of the octave divided into 5 equal parts. The rhythm is 5/8, continuing the five theme.

This piece was included on a 1978 LP called New Directions in Music: Significant Contemporary Works for the Computer, produced at the University of Tulsa. The LP contains recordings of the works that were presented there at a concert in honor of Aaron Copland. The Phillip Burton Mime Theatre did visual interpretations of some of the music, including this piece. I heard through the composer grapevine that Aaron Copland enjoyed this work at the concert.

"Dance," Interpreted by the Phillip Burton Mime Theatre